BUSINESS PROFILEBats EuropeGuy SimpkinTime and time again we’ve heard from our custom-ers, fund managers and inves-tors about the frustrationsthey have regarding the high-cost and complex licensingof index data from incumbentindex providers. We weredetermined to provide a solu-tion to this age-old problem.

With the launch of Bats
Indices, our mission was
simple: introduce choice
and competition into a
monopolised area of the
market by providing real-time, high-quality, low-cost
alternatives to commonly
used indices. It was the same
mission we had when Bats
launched in Europe eight years
ago – make markets better
for all market participants.

Upholding this mission
has enabled us to become
the largest stock exchange
in Europe with coverage
in 15 national markets,
handling nearly a quarter of
all European equities trading
each day.

This summer, Bats Indiceslaunched with a UK-focusedbenchmark index seriesconsisting of 18 differentindices covering large to smallcap securities and 12 industrysectors. The indices weredeveloped in consultation withinvestors and index users, tooffer a robust and trustworthyalternative to incumbentproviders.

A number of leading
UK-headquartered wealth
management and stockbroker
firms contributed to the
development of the indices
and have supported the
project from its inception. They
include Alliance Trust Savings,
AJ Bell, Charles Stanley
Direct, Hargreaves Lansdown,
Rathbones, Selftrade, and
TD Direct Investing. Taken
together, these firms execute
the majority of retail trades
and account for more than
£160 billion of funds under
management.

There are several featuresof the Bats Indices that makethem unique. First, the BatsIndices are published inreal-time, rather than mostcurrent offerings, which areprovided with a 15-minutedelay. As anyone watchingfinancial markets will know, alot can happen in 15 minutes.Case in point: theday following Britain’s EUreferendum, the Bats UK 100Index fell 516 points, or nearly5 percent, during the first 15minutes of the day. By givinginvestors an accurate, costeffective and immediate viewof precisely where the marketis moving, we can help themmake better informed tradingand investment decisions.The Bats Indices provideaccurate and reliable indexdata, transparently calculated,and valued immediatelyusing the real-time tradingdata taking place on Bats’European stock exchange,or, for the Bats UK Alternative100, using ISDX data.Because of the sheer sizeof Bats’ European market,and the varied participantstrading at any given time,our market data is a veryaccurate representation ofBy Guy Simpkin, head of business developmentat Bats Europe